Credits and billing
The spend that runs on its own
What gets consumed with nobody clicking anything, and why automating well starts with knowing what repeats.
What you click by hand is easy to estimate: you know how many documents you request a month. What is configured once and then runs on its own is estimated badly, because nobody triggers it and nobody counts it. It is not expensive: it repeats.
What runs on its own, and what it costs
| What is automated | When it consumes | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Notice to your system on each event | Once per delivered event | If the rule fires on every status change, it multiplies |
| Automatic process rules | Each time the rule applies | A loosely scoped rule applies more often than you think |
| Daily summary | When it is produced | Sending it adds nothing |
| Sync with your folder | Per sync requested | Not per document copied |
| Automatic reminder to a signer | Does not consume | One of the few repeating things that is free |
| Reminder to a contact | Does consume | And that is the contrast almost nobody expects |
Important
Those last two rows sum up the whole criterion: **chasing someone already signing costs nothing; asking a third party again does**. It is not arbitrary — the first closes something already under way, the second is a fresh outward communication. If you automate chasing, that difference is what decides the month-end bill, and it shows on no screen until it has happened.
The other rule that orders everything else
Watch out
Careful with what looks like a repeated charge and is not: **some processes are recorded step by step**. An automated call leaves a record of dialling, of transcribing and of storing; a job by the agent that browses on your behalf, of launching it, of logging what it did and of uploading the result. They appear as separate lines in the detail — deliberately, so each one can be audited — and added together they are what that whole task costs.
How to size it before switching it on
- 1
Count events, not features
«Notify the ERP» says nothing; «four status changes per file» does.
- 2
Multiply by your real volume for a month
Using the busiest month of the year, not the average.
- 3
Scope the rule to the event that actually matters
Half of automatic notices are read by nobody.
- 4
And review it the following month
It is the only way to see what fired more than it should.
Worth knowing
Each organisation can have its own consumption policy, so your account's detail overrides any general list. What does not change is the criterion: you are charged for what the platform does outwards or produces for you, not for consulting what is already yours.
›Can I limit who switches automations on?
Yes, and it is worth it: it is what stops ownerless spend growing.
›Does a notice that fails and retries count?
Check your account detail: every recorded delivery appears there.
›Is automating worth it, then?
Nearly always: a chase that goes out on its own costs less than the call it saves.
A real case
The situation
A company wires notices into its ERP on every status change of every file.
What you do
- Counts a busy month's events before switching it on and scopes the rule to two statuses
What you get
The notice arrives when it adds something, and automatic spend stops being a monthly surprise.
The situation
A scheduled process consumes every day.
What you do
- Reviews which activities it generates
What you get
Automated spend becomes known.
The situation
A process nobody needs is left running.
What you do
- Reviews what is scheduled periodically
What you get
What nobody uses gets switched off.
The situation
An integration generates consumption unwatched.
What you do
- Checks consumption by source
What you get
Automated spend has a name.
The situation
Consumption rises with nobody having done anything.
What you do
- Compares the breakdown with the previous period
What you get
The increase is located.
The situation
An automatic reminder fires more often than intended.
What you do
- Reviews the configured frequency
What you get
Consumption matches what is needed.
This article answers
- credits used without doing anything
- how much does automating notices cost
- do webhooks use credits
- why does usage climb every month